Brexit and covid-19 have produced a bigger civil service
It has also become more metropolitan
CIVIL SERVANTS have been ordered back to their desks as part of the government’s effort to show that post-pandemic life is returning to normal. But there is a problem: lack of space. The civil service is at its biggest in 12 years. Staff numbers at the Department for Health and Social Care nearly doubled in the year to September 2021, with 2,070 extra civil servants battling the pandemic.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “State of emergency”
Britain January 29th 2022
- Boris Johnson, the prime minister who can’t say no
- The Bank of England is determined to prevent a wage-price spiral
- Little sign of compromise over the Northern Ireland protocol
- Britain has long been a leader in genome-sequencing
- Brexit and covid-19 have produced a bigger civil service
- Britain’s newly listed tech firms are taking a beating
- After more than two decades, Britain is finally rid of termites
- Boris Johnson is making boring politics look attractive
From the January 29th 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Britain
Has the Royal Navy become too timid?
A new paper examines how its culture has changed
A plan to reorganise local government in England runs into opposition
Turkeys vote against Christmas
David Lammy’s plan to shake up Britain’s Foreign Office
Diplomats will be tasked with growing the economy and cutting migration
Britain’s government has spooked markets and riled businesses
Tax rises were inevitable. Such a shaky start was not
Labour’s credibility trap
Who can believe Rachel Reeves?